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By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds did not have any bumps in earning another trip back to the All “A” State Tournament. The Thoroughbreds (15-3 overall) handled the St. Henry Crusaders (12-9) by an 85-44 count Saturday at Covington Holy Cross. NewCath has won three straight All “A” 9th Region crowns and will be aiming for its third consecutive All “A” State championship in Frankfort this week. The Thoroughbreds saw Zack Pangallo take home most valuable player honors with Drew McDonald and Grant Moeves making the all-tournament team. McDonald had a double-double of 22 points and 14 rebounds with Pangallo scoring 18. Ben Weyer followed with 12 and Moves had 10. NewCath travels to Highlands on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. contest before beginning the All “A” State Tournament on Thursday. The Thoroughbreds battle either Edmonson County or Hancock County on at 11:30 a.m. at the Frankfort Civic Center. Fort Thomas Matters Sports: Hoops Roundup: NewCath claims another All "A" 9th crown

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds boys basketball team unsurprisingly recorded its 12th consecutive All “A” 9th Region semifinal contest. The Thoroughbreds (14-3 overall) took down the Beechwood Tigers, 72-41 to do that Friday at Covington Holy Cross. Zack Pangallo led NewCath with 25 points. The last time NewCath did not play to go to the All “A” State Tournament was 2003 when the St. Henry Crusaders beat the Thoroughbreds in the second round on their way to winning the whole thing. The Thoroughbreds have won consecutive All “A” state crowns in addition to winning the All “A” 9th Region title eight of the last 11 years and 10 times in 14 seasons. NewCath faces St. Henry (12-8) for the region championship back at Holy Cross on Saturday. Game time is 7 p.m. Fort Thomas Matters Sports: NewCath handles Beechwood in All "A" 9th Semifinals

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Highlands Bluebirds have been playing some good basketball lately. The Bluebirds (5-8) won their third in a row Saturday over the host Dayton Greendevils, 55-47. They moved to 1-1 in 36th District action. Balanced scoring has been key for the Bluebirds’ success lately. They had three players reach double-digit scoring. Kenny Ball led the way with 19 points. Junior Bo Hebel followed with 14 points and Justin Weyer scored 13. Highlands hits the road for three straight this week. The Bluebirds travel to Falmouth to face the Pendleton County Wildcats (8-10) on Tuesday. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Fort Thomas Matters Sports: Highlands wins third in a row

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter Opponents from the 33rd District have been lucky to come within 21 points of the Highlands Ladybirds basketball team this season. Highlands again dominated another opponent from that district with a 65-40 win over the Ryle Lady Raiders on Friday in Fort Thomas. The Ladybirds (15-1 overall) have outscored their three 33rd opponents, 215-134 for an average margin of victory of 27 points. Highlands once again created things driving to the basket drawing 20 Ryle fouls and hitting 25-of-29 free throws for 86 percent. The Lady Raiders (9-6) drew 14 fouls and made just 9-of-15 free-throw tries for 60 percent. Highlands outscored Ryle, 1.01-.61 in points per possession. The Ladybirds made 18-of-51 shots for 35 percent, including 4-of-16 from three-point range for 25 percent. The Lady Raiders hit 15-of-50 for 30 percent, including 1-of-9 for 11 percent. The Ladybirds again made things happen with their defense. Highlands made 11 steals off 20 Ryle turnovers while the Lady Raiders had five steals off 12 Ladybird turnovers. Highlands again saw three players reach double figures. Alex Combs made all seven free-throw attempts on her way to 19 points and two three-pointers. McKenzie Leigh followed with 13 points and Lydia Graves had 11. Ryle’s leading scorer had just 10 points. That came from Juliet McGregor. Highlands ventures out of the region Tuesday. The Ladybirds play host to Mason County of the 10th Region. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Fort Thomas Matters Sports: Ladybirds reach 15th win in convincing fashion

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Highlands Bluebirds basketball team earned its first 9th Region win on the road Thursday. Highlands (4-8) beat Ryle, 62-60 with three seconds left in overtime. Senior Justin Weyer hit the game-winner on his way to 13 points. The Bluebirds are 1-5 in region action. Three more players hit double digits for the Bluebirds. Mitch Cain led the way with 16 points and Nick Kendall had 13. Highlands continues 36th District action Saturday at Dayton. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Fort Thomas Matters Sports: Highlands earns first region win

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Highlands Ladybirds basketball team has just one blemish halfway through the season. The Ladybirds (14-1) moved to 7-0 in 9th Region play with a sound 75-54 win over the Cooper Lady Jaguars (4-9) on Tuesday. They have won five in a row. Senior Lydia Graves continued her hot streak with 20 points. Graves made 4-of-6 three-point shots. Highlands had three more players score double digits. Senior Alex Combs made 11-of-14 free-throw tries on her way to 16 points. Teammates Brianna Adler and McKenzie Leigh scored 11 each. Defense played a huge role in the Highlands win. The Ladybirds had 19 steals off 26 Cooper steals while allowing 18 turnovers and four Lady Jaguar steals. Combs led Highlands with four steals. Highlands also won the rebounding battle 40-32. Graves paced Highlands with seven. The Ladybirds hit 25-of-59 shots for 42 percent, including 9-of-20 from three-point range for 45 percent. They also made 16-of-28 free-throw tries for 57 percent. Cooper made 19-of-47 shots for 40 percent, including just 3-of-11 from downtown for 27 percent. The Lady Jaguars made 13-of-18 free-throw tries for 72 percent. The Lady Jaguars saw two players score in double digits. Lexi Held had 16 points and Asyah Mitchell had 14. Highlands plays host to another 33rd District opponent on Friday in the Ryle Lady Raiders (9-5). Game time is 7:30 p.m. Fort Thomas Matters Sports: Ladybirds move to 7-0 in 9th Region play

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The rival girls basketball team may be down from previous years. But it still marked a huge win for the visitors from a pride standpoint Monday. The Highlands Ladybirds (12-1 overall) snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Notre Dame Pandas with a 42-34 victory in Park Hills. Highlands also stayed undefeated in 9th Region play as a result at 5-0. Highlands had not beaten Notre Dame since a 66-43 win in Fort Thomas on Jan. 4, 2010 when Katie Allen, Bekah Towles and Hope Cutter were seniors. Notre Dame (5-8) has eliminated Highlands in the 9th Region Tournament the past three years. Senior Lydia Graves had another outstanding game with 12 points. She made three three-pointers. Junior Brianna Adler followed with nine points. Notre Dame saw just one player reach double-figures. That was sophomore Jenna Martin with 13. Free-throw woes kept Highlands from putting the game away. The Ladybirds made just 8-of-17 for 47 percent and Notre Dame hit 5-of-7 for 71 percent. Highlands finishes 36th District play Tuesday against Newport in Fort Thomas. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Fort Thomas Matters Sports: Highlands bests another rival

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter There have been a number of great games in this girls basketball series throughout the years. The matchup Saturday did not turn out to be one of them. The Highlands Ladybirds (11-1 overall, 3-0 district) came out hot and doubled the visiting Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds (7-4, 1-1), 62-31 in the crucial 36th District game. Highlands had not beaten NewCath at home in the regular season since Jan. 9, 2009 by a 54-48 count led by the likes of Sam Messmer and Mallory Adler. Highlands followed up a 25-point win over Conner on Wednesday with another big win. This comes following two sub-par performances Tuesday in their lone loss of the year to Owensboro Catholic and a win over Walton-Verona. “It wasn’t anything the staff did. It was the girls refocusing and knowing they have to bring it every night,” said Jaime Walz-Richey, Highlands Head Coach. “They responded well. They know we have a tough stretch coming up. They knew they needed to come out and perform well. They did that.” Both teams took 46 shots. Highlands made 23 for 50 percent including 5-of-11 from three-point range for 46 percent and NewCath made 11 for just 24 percent including 4-of-14 from outside. Highlands had 1.17 points per possession to .53 for the Thoroughbreds. “At all times, they have five players that can score and that’s what makes them dangerous,” said George Stoll, NewCath Head Coach. “We just need other players to step up. We need to play better and we didn’t (Saturday). That’s the bottom line.” The Ladybirds displayed their usual balance as the top seven players scored at least five points. Senior Lydia Graves led the way with 16 points making 4-of-5 from three-point range. Junior McKenzie Leigh followed with 13 and Kiersten Clukey had 10. “I complemented the girls at half,” Richey said. “They knew Lydia had the hot hand. A lot of teams struggle with that. We’re recognizing who’s hot and we’re getting her the ball.” Highlands also won the rebounding battle, 38-27. Leigh and Alex Combs had eight rebounds each. Combs added eight points. Senior Michaela Ware tried to keep Highlands in the game with 16 points. She hit 6-of-12 shots for 50 percent. But NewCath could not answer when Highlands took away her penetration. No one scored more than seven points for NewCath. “We had to make sure we kept Michaela Ware to her left and make sure (Sarah) Neace didn’t get any wide-open shots,” Richey said. “We didn’t let her shoot a three and that was huge.” Highlands did a better job stepping in the passing lanes defensively. The Ladybirds recorded eight steals and 11 turnovers to 17 turnovers and one steal for the Thoroughbreds. Brianna Adler and Zoie Barth had two thefts each. Highlands did a good job beating the NewCath pressure and scoring. Clukey made a couple fast-break lay-ups. “The biggest thing is making sure someone comes back to help at all times,” Clukey said. “Our speed really helped us get down the floor and execute good passes.” Neither team shot free throws exceptionally well. Highlands made 11-of-19 for 58 percent and NewCath made 5-of-10 for 50 percent. Leigh put in an offensive rebound 15 seconds into the game and Loren Zimmerman hit a jumper to tie the game with 7:10 left in the first quarter. But Highlands went on an 11-0 run and never looked back. Graves led the way making three three-pointers during the run. “We knew we had to come out strong because we knew they would come out intense,” Graves said. “If we didn’t match that, it wasn’t going to be good in the beginning. We worked together as a team.” Highlands led 22-10 after the first quarter and extended it to 26-10 following a Leigh score. NewCath cut the margin to 26-15 before a Haley Coffey offensive putback and Combs score extended it back to 30-15. Highands led 33-18 at halftime and put the game away in the third quarter with a 7-0 run. Graves hit another three-pointer and Leigh had a three-point play to put the Ladybirds up 45-22. Highlands led 45-24 entering the fourth quarter. The Ladybirds finished the game with a 15-0 run. Clukey had six points to lead Highlands during that stretch. Highlands plays again Monday at Notre Dame while NewCath travels to Boone County on Tuesday. Both games start at 7:30 p.m. Basketball, Boys: Newport Central Catholic 63, St. Louis (Mo.) Academy 61: The Thoroughbreds (7-2) won their game in the Clem Haskins Classic at Taylor County over the Missouri team that goes 6-foot-7, 6-9, 6-10 and seven feet on its front line. Drew McDonald made two free throws with 9.8 seconds left to win the game for NewCath. Ben Weyer had a double-double of 33 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Thoroughbreds. NewCath takes on Covington Holy Cross on Monday at The Hill. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Fort Thomas Matters Sports: Highlands doubles up NewCath

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Highlands Ladybirds basketball team has done a great job attacking the basket all season. If they don’t make the shot, the Ladybirds have often drawn fouls and made their free throws. The difference at the free-throw line helped Ladybirds beat the host Campbell County Lady Camels, 64-51 Friday and stay undefeated at 6-0 on the season. Highlands committed 16 fouls to 15 for Campbell County (5-3) led by first-year Head Coach and Highlands alum Beau Menefee. But the Ladybirds made 21-of-24 free-throw tries for 88 percent compared to 6-of-12 for 50 percent for the hosts. Highlands displayed its usual balance in the win. Junior Brianna Adler made all six free throws and 3-of-5 three-point tries on her way to a team-high 19 points. Teammate Zoie Barth hit all five attempts on her way to 11 points and Haley Coffey made 8-of-10 on her way to 10 points. The top six Highlands players scored at least five points. Highlands shot better from the field making 20-of-38 attempts for 53 percent including 3-of-8 three-point tries for 38 percent. Campbell County made 20-of-44 shots for 46 percent, including 5-of-19 three-point tries for 26 percent. Highlands scored 1.23 points per possession to .82 for Campbell County. The Ladybirds won the rebounding battle, 28-19. McKenzie Leigh led the way with seven and Lydia Graves had six. Highlands did not have as many steals as usual. But the Ladybirds did record nine off 17 Lady Camel turnovers. Campbell County had six steals off just 10 Highlands turnovers. Adler led the Ladybirds with four thefts. Highlands also did a wonderful job distributing the ball recording 11 assists to two for Campbell County. Coffey again led the Ladybirds with four assists. Campbell County saw three players reach double figures. Taylor Clos led the way with 12 points and Kylie Kramer had 11. Taylor Jolly followed with 10 and Mackenzie Schwarber scored nine. Highlands moved to 3-0 against county foes and will face another Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The Ladybirds play host to Bellevue (4-2) at 2:30 p.m. Fort Thomas Matters Sports: Ladybirds pull away from Lady Camels

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Highlands Ladybirds basketball team continued to wreak havoc on the opposition with another convincing win Saturday. The South Oldham Lady Dragons came to town and Highlands handed them a 67-39 defeat to stay perfect on the season at 5-0. The Ladybirds have outscored those five opponents, 339-192 on the season for a 29.4 point average margin of victory. “A lot of these players are so unselfish,” said Jaime Walz-Richey, Highlands Head Coach. “They’re not afraid to make the extra pass. They’ve been playing together for a long time and they trust each other.” Highlands smashed another opponent with offensive balance. Three Ladybirds reached double-digits in the win. Senior Alex Combs led the way making 3-of-3 three-point tries for 16 points. Teammates Zoie Barth and McKenzie Leigh scored 12 points each. Leigh tore up South Oldham’s 2-3 zone in the middle using her 6-foot-1-inch advantage. That forced South Oldham to collapse and that opened things up for Combs from the outside. Leigh added three blocked shots defensively. “We really work on moving the ball around to get the defense out of place then get it inside to me,” Leigh said. “If I don’t have a shot, I usually try to kick it out. We’ve having so much fun and we love it.” Highlands also did a lot of damage attacking the basket. Barth hit 8-of-9 free throws constantly drawing fouls doing that. The Ladybirds did a wonderful job passing the ball, especially in transition. They had 12 assists to two for the Lady Dragons. Brianna Adler and Lydia Graves had three assists each for Highlands. Highlands made 22-of-45 shots for 49 percent including 4-of-15 from three-point land for 27 percent. The Ladybirds also made 19-of-25 free throws for 76 percent. Defensively, Highlands held South Oldham to 14-of-46 shooting for 30 percent, including 3-of-17 from outside for 18 percent. The Lady Dragons also made just 8-of-16 free throws for 50 percent. Abby VanZant and Sydney Jones scored 10 points each for South Oldham. The Ladybirds pressured the Lady Dragons all over the court forcing 23 turnovers on 16 steals. Coffey and Kristyn Lukjan led Highlands with three steals each. Highlands led 16-2 to start the game. “(Ball pressure) is very important and the girls know it,” Richey said. “We have to rotate better and they are understanding that. They’re getting in the passing lanes to get steals.” Highlands won the rebounding battle, 33-31. Senior Lydia Graves led the Ladybirds with four rebounds. Highlands led 16-4 after one quarter and 33-17 at halftime. The Ladybirds put the game away with a 22-10 third quarter to go up 55-27. That led the reserves play in the fourth quarter. After the top seven for Highlands, Lukjan, Whitney Quillen, Lauren Epperson, Emma Little and Olivia McQueary scored. Highlands does not play again until Friday at Campbell County (4-2). Game time is 7:30 p.m. Fort Thomas Matters Sports: Highlands girls stay undefeated

It has been a process. But the plan paid off this year as 1976 Highlands graduate Dave Morris guided the Campbell County Lady Camels soccer team to their best season in school history. Campbell County finished a school-record 18-6-1 to go with 37th District and 10th Region crowns. That marked the first region crown in school history. The Lady Camels have constantly grown since Morris became the head coach in 2007. Campbell County went 15-6-2 in 2013 losing to in-town arch-rival Bishop Brossart in both the 37th District and 10th Region title games. The Lady Camels went 14-9-2 in 2012 also losing to Bishop Brossart in both the 37th District and 10th Region championship games. Campbell County won those games with just four seniors. They were Bryanna Schroers, defender Brooklyn Burgess along with forwards Carolyn Bertsch and Abby Vandergriff. Bertsch led Campbell County with 13 goals and Burgess had a team-high nine assists. “We’re a young team. We were still experienced because we had some key players that played varsity the previous year,” Morris said. “They were a group of girls who believed they were going to win and didn’t expect to lose. They were a confident bunch. Whether we got down in a game or not, we still played hard. That went well.” Campbell County recorded some huge wins on the season. The Lady Camels beat Bishop Brossart three times and knocked off defending state champion Notre Dame, 1-0 on Oct. 14. “They already were winning most of our games,” Morris said. “We played Notre Dame late in the season. Once we beat Notre Dame, they knew we were capable of beating anybody. We played a lot of tough teams in Louisville. They knew that if kept playing hard, they knew they were capable of beating anybody on a given day.” Morris said the big difference between this year and his first couple years at Campbell County has been an attitude change and seeing more players involved with club soccer. The strategy has also been more like the best teams in Kentucky. “Teams that rely on just pure speed and playing the ball forward at all times and don’t possess usually don’t make it far into the playoffs because strong, defensive type teams that can possess against them rise to the top,” Morris said. “That’s why teams like Notre Dame and teams downstate like West Jessamine have been so successful.” Morris has coached boys before. But he said there is a huge difference between motivating boys and teen-age girls. “You can hold them accountable,” Morris said. “But I think the key thing is in order to motivate teen-aged girls, you need to have a positive coaching style with positive reinforcement. You can still get on people. You have to communicate daily with every player.” Defender Holly Schwarber returns for Campbell County in 2015 for her senior season. Schwarber earned First Team All-State Sweeper honors. Schwarber liked how the coaches molded her and her teammates into a team. “The coaches keep us together,” Schwarber said. “We did a lot of team bonding this year. We would go to each others’ houses, eat dinner and do crafts. We painted one time and they helped organize that. If there was a conflict, it would be a team thing. They would not take individuals aside. I think that was a part of our success for sure.” Morris has been coaching for a while. The Lady Camels own a record of 100-47-21 since he took over. Before going to Campbell County, Morris served as the head girls soccer coach at Walton-Verona for three years. His overall record during those 11 seasons is 130-73-24. Morris works as an Engineer for General Electric Aviation in Cincinnati. Morris said his job is very good about letting him take off to coach. “I’ve been there a long time,” Morris said. “I take vacation days on game days and things like that. My boss is great. He’s a soccer fan. He’s understanding about soccer a lot. From July to October, I’m not home a lot. We usually practice between 7 and 9 p.m. at night.” Morris played on the 1975 Class 3A state championship Bluebird football team led by Head Coach Roger Walz that beat Franklin-Simpson, 6-0. Highlands did not have a boys soccer team at that point. The Bluebird program did not start until 1985. Morris and his wife live in Fort Thomas. All four of their kids graduated from Highlands. The Lady Camels hope to keep building on the last couple years. He said a goalkeeper needs to step forward and Campbell County needs to replace the scoring production of the two starting forwards. FORT THOMAS MATTERS: Morris builds solid Lady Camel program

Newport Central Catholic’s girls basketball team won its third game of the season in as many times Wednesday. The Thoroughbreds pulled away from the host Dixie Heights Lady Colonels (3-1), 51-36 for another 9th Region win. NewCath led 32-20 at halftime and pulled away in the fourth quarter. Freshman Lexi Breen scored 14 points to lead NewCath. Michaela Ware, Loren Zimmerman and Sarah Neace followed with nine points each. Neace made three three-pointers. The difference in the game was turnovers. NewCath’s patented on-ball pressure defense that forced 25 turnovers. “That was big,” said George Stoll, NewCath Head Coach. “Our press was working pretty well. We played hard and got after it. It was a good win.” Dixie Heights saw Liza Tibbs score 18 points. NewCath made 9-of-18 free throws for 50 percent. Dixie Heights hit 4-of-7 for 57 percent. The Thoroughbreds travel to Breathitt County on Saturday. Game time is 4 p.m. Fort Thomas Matters Sports: NewCath girls move to 3-0

The Highlands Ladybirds basketball team continued its hot start Tuesday winning its home opener to move to 3-0 on the season. Highlands downed the Bishop Brossart Lady Mustangs, 63-35. Bishop Brossart fell to 1-2 with the loss. The Ladybirds again saw three players reach double figures in scoring and eight score total. Junior Brianna Adler led the way making 5-of-8 three-point attempts for 15 points. Eighth grader Zoie Barth followed with 12 for Highlands and senior Alex Combs scored 11 making 5-of-12 shots. Bishop Brossart saw two players reach double figures. They were Sydney Shannon with 12 and Emily Schultz with 10. Highlands made 21-of-57 shots for 37 percent, including 10-of-28 from three-point range for 36 percent and 11-of-18 free-throw attempts for 61 percent. Bishop Brossart made just 15-of-32 shots for 47 percent including no three-point tries and 5-of-8 free-throw attempts for 63 percent. Highlands scored one point per possession to .62 for Bishop Brossart. The Ladybirds saw six different players making a three-pointer. In addition to Adler, Haley Coffey, Lydia Graves, Combs, Barth and Izzy Schultz all made one three-pointer each. Highlands again played stifling defense. The Lady Mustangs had 27 turnovers to 12 for the Ladybirds. Highlands recorded 19 steals and allowed just five. Adler led Highlands with seven thefts and Combs had four. The Ladybirds outscored the Lady Mustangs, 31-4 in points off turnovers. Highlands also distributed the ball well making 15 assists to six for Bishop Brossart. Coffey, Graves and Combs had a team-high three assists for the Ladybirds. Bishop Brossart did edge Highlands, 30-28 in rebounds. Combs and Kristyn Lukjan had five to lead the Ladybirds and Schultz had eight for Bishop Brossart. Highlands led just 13-11 after the first quarter. But the Ladybirds pulled away for a 32-17advantage at halftime. They led 48-25 after the third quarter. Highlands travels to Grant County (1-2) on Friday. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Fort Thomas Matters Sports: Ladybirds pull away in home opener

BOWLING GREEN – What many thought would be a typical Blue and White blowout was not anywhere close to it. Instead, the Owensboro Red Devils came out swinging hard grabbing a 42-21 halftime lead. But the vaunted Highlands Bluebirds came right back out, flexed their muscles and came away with a hard-fought 49-42 victory in the Class 4A state championship on Saturday for their 23rd state championship. The game took place at Western Kentucky University’s Houchens-LT Smith Stadium. It was a wonderful way to finish the 100th season in school history. In their two losses to Cincinnati Elder and Miami (Fla.) Christopher Columbus, Highlands fell behind big as well. But the Bluebirds were not able to complete the comebacks in those games despite huge rallies. The Bluebirds moved to 868-229-26 in school history. That win total is good for second in the country behind Valdosta (Georgia) at 891-216-34. “(Those games) maybe (helped) a little,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Head Coach. “It’s what they’ve been all season and doing since January. We show up every day and we work until it’s time to go home. It wasn’t time to go home yet so we kept fighting.” Highlands ended up outgaining Owensboro, 455-413 in total offense including 30-25 in first downs. But at halftime, the Red Devils had 294 yards to 264 for the Bluebirds. The Bluebirds defended the Owensboro Triple-Option Veer offense better in the second half. They finished with eight tackles for a loss for 20 yards. Brady Murray had 2.5 to lead Highlands and DJ Mills had two more. Rocco Pangallo and Austin Beal had one each and Grayson Heck combined for another. Jacob Noe led Highlands with eight tackles. “We just decided we were going to fly to the ball. We weren’t going to make any major adjustments,” said Daniel Kremer, Highlands senior defensive lineman. “We knew they were going to come out and try to run it down our throat. We thought that was kind of disrespecting us so we came right back at them, especially in the second half. I’m just really proud of my team. We saw it all coming. But it was a struggle in the first half because we couldn’t get our range. We started to get ourselves under control and we started to play the way we love, which is fast and loose.” Owensboro quarterback Nick Locher ran the Red Devil offense with efficiency. Anthony James carried the ball 24 times for 103 yards and two touchdowns and Locher had 11 carries for 86 yards and a touchdown. Locher also completed 12-of-21 passes for 159 yards and three touchdowns. Rodney Collier led the Red Devils with eight catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns. “It’s the same thing we say every day,” said Shelby Jones, Highlands Defensive Coordinator. “We’re going to play every single play. I said at halftime it doesn’t matter what happened in the first half. If we shut them out in the second half, our offense was going to win us the game. That’s what happened. The guys kept flying around. We made a couple minor adjustments up front. It was a difference in the whole game.” Highlands quarterback Beau Hoge finished off a stellar career with 78 yards rushing on 18 carries and three touchdowns. He also completed 15-of-26 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns. The Brigham Young commit played wide receiver last year. “It’s a team win,” Hoge said. “Everyone played a huge part. I just got to part of the act.” The Highlands offensive line continuously gave Hoge time and the running backs lanes. Senior Griffin Urlage led the Bluebirds with 26 carries for 157 yards and a touchdown. Senior wide receiver Alex Veneman finished with eight catches for 66 yards. “The guys ahead of us have been incredible,” said Brandon Lichtenberg, Highlands junior offensive lineman. “But I think this year, we’ve just absolutely stepped it up with our size and how many people we had. We fell behind, but we came back. We felt it in our minds. That’s all we needed to do to win.” The Bluebirds turned the ball over twice in the first half and once in the second half. The turnovers helped Owensboro build the halftime advantage. “We felt all year that we had so many different guys to go to,” Weinrich said. “We had to figure out which one to go to at that particular time. If we stopped stopping ourselves, we’d be fine.” Highlands came out and Bradley Greene recovered an onside kick to start the game to give the Bluebirds the ball at their own 40. The Bluebirds moved the ball and took a 7-0 lead when Hoge scored from a yard out with 10:06 left in the first quarter. But Owensboro quickly responded. Locher took the fake off left tackle for a 47-yard touchdown run to tie the game with 8:48 left. The Red Devils took a 14-7 lead with 5:33 left in the quarter. James scored from eight yards out. Following a bad punt, Owensboro went up 21-7 when Locher found Collier for a 37-yard score. The Red Devils then recovered an onside kick and James scored on a 14-yard dive with 9:45 left in the quarter. That is when the Bluebirds responded. Hoge scored from a yard out to trim the margin to 28-14 with 6:16 left in the half. Owensboro responded when Jahlil Barrett hauled in a 24-yard pass from Locher before Hoge found Mitch Cain for a 21-yard touchdown. But Owensboro scored with five seconds left in the half when Locher found Collier for a 12-yard touchdown. The Bluebirds received the ball to start the second half and scored quickly. Urlage scored from four yards out to trim the margin to 42-28 with 9:42 left in the third. The Bluebirds trimmed the margin to 42-35 with 4:41 left in the quarter. Hoge found Chandler New on an isolation route for a 34-yard touchdown pass. Highlands did get the ball back but fumbled it back to Ownensboro. That’s when Austin Beal made a huge interception and returned it 70 yards to tie the game at 42 with 9:31 left in the game. The Red Devils began taking changes. After converting a 4th-and-1 from their own 29, James took a pitch in the backfield and tried to throw downfield. That’s when James Hinkel recorded an interception at the Highlands 27 with 5:46 left in the game. Hoge and Urlage carried the load for Highlands down the field. On second-and-goal, Hoge scored on a sweep left with 2:30 left in the game. The Bluebirds needed to make a stop to seal the deal. With 50 seconds left, Heck intercepted the pass and returned the ball 18 yards to the Owensboro 46 allowing Highlands to run out the clock. “It was nice,” Heck said. “I felt (the pass) coming because they were in that mountain four (formation). I just made a great break on it and we won the game.” The Bluebirds will take the month off then begin working on the 2015 season in January. They play an all-Kentucky schedule next season. FORT THOMAS MATTERS: Bluebirds rally down 21 for 23rd state championship

BOWLING GREEN – After the 49-35 loss to Cincinnati Elder on Oct. 24, Bluebird senior quarterback Beau Hoge made a promise to pal and Highlands senior cornerback Andrew “The Cowboy” Abner. “(Hoge) said this one is for you,” Abner said. “We’re going to work our tails off to get onto this field (Saturday) and to win the game. It’s easily the best feeling I’ve had in my life. It’s an accomplishment.” They did just that Saturday when they rallied past Owensboro, 49-42. That marked the Bluebirds’ seventh state championship in eight seasons. Abner had just been lost for the season to a torn Anterior Cruciated Ligament. Teammate and fellow senior Josh Watson also went down with the same injury that day and tight end Jack Telek suffered the same fate in a preseason scrimmage against Louisville Trinity. Highlands senior offensive lineman Kyler Dalton also did not see much action this year because of injuries. He was the lone returning offensive lineman with any varsity experience entering the season. Running backs like James Grau also battled injuries this year. While many teams crumble in situations like this, Highlands rises to the occasion. Anyone associated with the program would tell you it is a family atmosphere within the Bluebird program. “They guys do whatever is asked of them,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Head Coach. “They’ve been so unselfish all year. It didn’t matter whose number was getting called. They blocked for each other. They pick each other up if one makes a mistake. You can’t give those guys enough credit.” The injured players made the trip. Some players do not have much to do with the team anymore after a season-ending injury. Watson was glad he stuck around. “We (injured players) couldn’t do anything to win this game,” Watson said. “We should have come out harder, but we didn’t. All that matters is we won the game.” Highlands rallying together may remind some of the 2005 Highlands Ladybird state championship girls soccer team that finished 24-2. Highlands knocked off Lexington Catholic, 1-0 on penalty kicks in the title game that year. Megan Leahy, Caitlin Beck, Natalie Turner and Sydney Hiance hit their kicks before Lexington Catholic missed and Rachel Redmond hit the game-winner. The team rallied around then-senior Karly Hassman, who also tore her left ACL in a 3-1 win over Dixie Heights on Sept. 16, 2005. That injury happened before Highlands installed artificial turf in 2012. “It was huge. I already had surgery at that point,” Hassman said when Redmond hit the game-winner. “But I felt like I was running again. It was definitely an adrenaline boost. I remember when we went into a shootout how (Head Coach) Nina (Kearns) asked if I was ready to get in there. Of course, that wasn’t likely. She still felt like I was part of the time.” Still tied for most titles in school history: The Bluebirds are still tied for the most state championships in Kentucky history with 23. Louisville Trinity beat Dixie Heights, 47-14 to claim the 6A crown and its 23rd title in school history. Christopher Columbus to play for title: The Christopher Columbus Explorers (13-1) will play for the Florida Class 8A state championship after winning Friday. They beat Flanagan, 16-12 in the state’s largest class semifinals. Christopher Columbus handed Highlands one of its two losses during the regular season, 38-34 on Oct. 11 in Fort Thomas. The other came to another non-Kentucky team in Cincinnati Elder, 49-35 on Oct. 24. A crown for the cheerleaders: The Highlands cheerleading squad recently claimed the Region 9 Small Varsity championship on Nov. 22 at Cooper. Highlands came in second for years. Their head coach is Carly Thompson-Leopold. “They learned the routine in August and they have been working since then on improving the skills and working on the skills to learn it,” Leopold said. “They work hard for 2.5 minutes and that’s all they get.” Many perceive cheerleading is all about precision on the routines. But Leopold said that varies. “It really depends on your difficulty,” Leopold said. “The more difficult it is, the more leniency you have if something were to go wrong. That was what was in our favor to win. We had a few stunts that did drop.” Another individual honor for Mueller: Longtime Highlands Head Coach Dale Mueller won another honor recently. Mueller and former Beechwood Head Football Coach Mike Yeagle received a recent induction into the Northern Kentucky Athletic Directors Hall of Fame. Mueller coached the Bluebirds from 1994 until last year. He is still serving as the Highlands Director of Athletics until the end of the academic school year then will retire. The Bluebirds finished 250-36 during that time with 11 state championships and three runner-up finishes. Farewell to the seniors: The Bluebirds bid farewell to 26 seniors. They are Watson, Abner, Hoge, Telek, Dalton, Grau, Lou Bunning, James Hinkel, Kyle Martin, Justin Weyer, Alex Veneman, Rocco Pangallo, Brady Murray, Griffin Urlage, Daniel Kremer, Jacob Noe, Grayson Heck, Patrick Schoepf, DJ Mills, Ben Ellison, John Abner, Manny Venegas, Matt Gall, Matt Bowman, Phillip Arce and Cashel Coughlan. That class won three state championships in four years of high school. They made up for the 37-34 loss to Collins in the title game last year. Highlands has seven titles in the last eight seasons. Past Highlands teams honored: The 1964 and 1989 state championship Highlands teams were honored at halftime. Among those in attendance were Dan Mueller, a junior on the 1964 team and older brother of Dale Mueller and Head coach Owen Hauck. Weinrich played on the 1989 state championship team that beat Paducah Tilghman, 7-3. Outlook for next year: This next offseason could be one of the biggest in Highlands history. Not only will the Bluebirds move up to Class 5A with Covington Catholic, they could face a tougher road back to Bowling Green. They will be in the same district with CovCath, Dixie Heights and Grant County next season. Highlands needs some players to step forward from the junior varsity and freshmen squads. The Bluebird junior varsity finished 1-5 with the lone win coming against Covington Catholic. The freshmen finished 3-5 beating Simon Kenton, Boone County and Cooper. Next year’s team will have an advantage in the new field house. It is expected to be finished early in 2015. The Bluebirds may have to get by defending 5A champion Pulaski County in the state semifinals. The Bowling Green Purples and Graves County Eagles could be the main threat in the title game. FORT THOMAS MATTERS: Highlands Wins One for Injured Teammates

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter BOWLING GREEN – Their strength of scheduled helped out a lot in this playoff run. The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds football team hoped it would help out one more time in the Class 2A state championship game rematch against the Louisville DeSales Colts. But that was not the case as DeSales blanked NewCath, 26-0 on Friday at Western Kentucky University’s Feix Field, Houchens/LT Smith Stadium. The Colts (14-1) allowed just 101 points entering the game to go with five shutouts. They allowed just 13 points in the entire playoffs on their way to their second straight state championship. They beat the Thoroughbreds last year, 34-26. “They did exactly what they’ve done all year (defensively),” said Harold Davis, DeSales Head Coach. “It’s been really, really fun. I’m proud of our defense for the shutout.” NewCath (8-6 overall) made its 13 state championship appearance in school history. The Thoroughbreds are 5-8 in those contests. The Thoroughbreds faced three 6A and one 5A school in preparation for the playoffs while the Colts took on one 6A and two 5A schools in non-district action. None of those DeSales opponents made it past the second round. But Simon Kenton, Cooper and Dixie Heights all played for region championships and Dixie Heights is in the 6A title game Saturday night. DeSales lost to District 4 rival Christian Academy of Louisville, 17-0 on Oct. 17. But the Colts won the playoff rematch in the Region 2 finals, 7-6 on Nov. 21. The Thoroughbreds had been moving the ball well throughout the playoffs. They only managed 50 yards of total offense against the Colts. That included a minus-21 yards on the ground. NewCath converted just 3-of-13 third-down attempts and none of its three attempts on fourth down. “They kicked the dog snot out of us up front,” said Dan Wagner, NewCath Head Coach. “You have to be able to move the football and we didn’t come close to being able to move the football. We put ourselves in bad situations. We didn’t take advantage of anything. We knew they had a good defense.” NewCath tried to establish the vaunted running game with junior Jacob Smith. But DeSales held him to just 13 yards on 16 carries. His longest run went for 12 yards. That forced the Thoroughbreds to take to the air. Henschen completed 12-of-26 attempts for 71 yards and three interceptions all to Adam Nord. The Colts sacked sophomore quarterback Patrick Henschen four times for a loss of 27 yards. NewCath completed a lot of short passes. Senior Brandon Gray led the Thoroughbreds with four catches for 21 yards. The Thoroughbreds recovered two fumbles in Colt territory and three total. But they never advanced the ball past the Colt 24-yard line. Ben Barbara, Peyton Davis and Erik Anderson had fumble recoveries for the Thoroughbreds. On the other side, DeSales rushed for 300 yards on 56 carries for an average of 5.4 per touch in its traditional Wing-T set. The Colts showed their balance as nine different players had carries. Quarterback Austin Johnson led the way going for 83 yards on 13 attempts and a touchdown for the Colts. Bryant Pirtle, Frankie Tharp and Austin Tharp rushed for 63, 63 and 61 yards respectively. Johnson completed 7-of-11 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown. Three went to Austin Craig for 57 yards and a touchdown. DeSales went on a long drive on its first possession. It ended with a Tharp 3-yard touchdown. The Colts led just 6-0 after the Thoroughbreds blocked the extra-point attempt. The play that broke the Thoroughbreds happened a few minutes later. On a 4th-and-7 from the NewCath 35, NewCath lost Craig on a bootleg right. Johnson found him wide-open for a 35-yard touchdown. Johnson then made the extra-point kick to put the Thoroughbreds up 13-0. That was 1-of-2 fourth-downs DeSales converted. “They did exactly what we thought they’d do,” Wagner said. “I was a little disappointed in the one touchdown they had down there. We worked all week on that play and we let (Craig) run down. But they’re high school kids.” DeSales received the ball back not long after that. Nord picked off a Henschen pass and set DeSales up at the Thoroughbred 11. But the Thoroughbred defense held up and Johnson kicked a 26-yard field goal with 23 seconds left in the quarter to put DeSales up 16-0. Nord then picked off Henschen the second time at the end of the first quarter. He returned it 57 yards to the NewCath 18. Johnson scored from two yards out on third-and-goal to put the Colts up 23-0. NewCath played better defensively in the second half. The only DeSales score of that half came with 4:01 left in the game. Johnson booted a 27-yard field goal. The Thoroughbreds graduate 15 seniors from this team. They are Gray, Nate Enslen, Clint Bartels, Thomas Owens, Brent Moore, Grant Schilling, Josh Boyle, Kyle Sampson, Barbara, Logan Neff, Jacob Raleigh, Jacob Wieland, Maurice Hehman, Michael Terry and Matt Frey. Fort Thomas Matters Sports: DeSales blanks NewCath in 2A title rematch

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter It is no surprise both teams have made it back to the Class 2A title game. The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds football team just hopes for a different result after last year’s 34-26 loss to the Louisville DeSales Colts. That marked the first state championship in school history for the Colts. NewCath is making its third straight state championship game appearance and its 10th since 2000. The Thoroughbreds (8-5) own a record of 5-7 in state championship games. They beat Caldwell County, 30-26 in the 2A title game two years ago. Game time is 3:30 p.m. EST in Bowling Green. Western Kentucky University Feix Field, Houchens/LT Smith Stadium will play host to the state football championships through 2018. The Thoroughbreds go into the game as underdogs. The only blemish for the Colts (13-1) from District 4 came Oct. 17 when the Christian Academy of Louisville knocked them off 17-0. DeSales came back and avenged that loss with a 7-6 win in the region finals on Nov. 21. DeSales then beat Murray, 14-7 in the state semifinals last week. DeSales has scored 456 points this year and allowed just 101. But the Thoroughbreds have been playing their best football lately. They enter the title game off a 43-14 win at Shelby Valley in the semifinals. “I like the way this team has matured individually and as a team,” said Dan Wagner, NewCath Head Coach. “It took a little while. They’re taking the coaching, doing what they’re asked to do and doing it well. It’s huge when they buy into it. That makes a big difference.” The Thoroughbreds will face a Wing-T formation. The Colts have chugged out 3,195 yards on the ground and 1,198 through the air. They’ve done it with balance as Matt Ruxer leads the Colts with 666 yards rushing on 119 carries and eight touchdowns. “It’s still a basic play,” Wagner said. “From a defensive standpoint, if you take care of what you are supposed to take care of, it really doesn’t matter if it is this guy or that guy who gets the ball. We’re a gap defense. We try not to get into all the other stuff. We have to read keys and go off that.” Eleven different DeSales rushers have a touchdown on the season. Bryant Pirtle is second with 75 carries for 582 yards and eight touchdowns and quarterback Austin Johnson is third with 81 rushes for 481 yards and 10 touchdown. “This is more how we have been in the past,” said Harold Davis, DeSales Head Coach. “I think it makes it a little difficult on defenses not being able to concentrate on just one ball carrier.” When teams load up on the run, DeSales throws the ball. Johnson has completed 73-of-137 passes for 1,198 yards, 13 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. His top two targets have been Ruxer with 17 catches for 286 yards and three scores and Austin Craig with 16 receptions for 316 yards and three scores. The Thoroughbreds have played the tougher schedule. They’ve allowed 266 points, 2,317 yards rushing and 1,609 passing on the year in their 4-4 attack. Junior linebacker Kobe Tallon continues to lead NewCath with 143 tackles and Peyton Davis has 100. Defensive back Erik Anderson has a team-high four interceptions and Brandon Gray has three. “We’re going to focus a lot on knowing their formations,” Davis said. “They do spread the wealth quite a bit. I think we plan on getting a lot of pressure on their offensive line. It’s about winning the battle up front.” The Thoroughbreds take on a talented DeSales defense. Pirtle leads the Colts with 77 tackles and five fumble recoveries. Craig owns a team-high four interceptions for DeSales. “They’re very well-coached on defense,” said Dave Schneider, NewCath Offensive Coordinator. “They have a nice team. We just have to do our stuff and play very well. We need to play our best football. We’re playing with a lot of confidence. I like our chances.” The Thoroughbred offensive line has been blocking well lately. That’s been the big reason why junior running back Jacob Smith has rushed for 1,477 yards on 208 carries and 25 touchdowns on the season. But quarterback Patrick Henschen could again be key for the Thoroughbreds. NewCath has scored 359 points, rushed for 1,918 yards and passed for 1,536 this year. Henschen has completed 105-of-165 passes for 1,409 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions. Nate Enslen surpassed the 500-yard receiving plateau with 28 catches for 503 yards and seven touchdowns. Gray has 35 for 363 yards and Smith owns 23 receptions for 361 yards. “The seniors have me a lot with my leadership role,” Henschen said. “We’ve worked hard all season. I feel like we’ve developed a lot from the season so we’re ready. We’re pretty confident.” NewCath does not change classes next season. The Thoroughbreds stay in 2A next year. Fort Thomas Matters Sports: NewCath meets familiar foe in 2A rematch

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter I happened to be talking to Ashley Twehues-Thomas for an upcoming project Tuesday and mentioned the Highlands Bluebirds were playing the Owensboro Red Devils for the Class 4A state championship. The 2004 Highlands graduate and former Butler University soccer player wondered something familiar when it comes to the Bluebirds and state championship games in recent years. Thomas wondered if it will be another Highlands blowout. That’s understandable based on their recent run of six straight state championships. The Bluebirds beat their opponents by an average of just more than 33 points. There did not appear to be anyone in Class 4A that had the balance to beat the Bluebirds like last year’s Collins Titans team did. Collins ended the Bluebird run with a 37-34 victory on a touchdown with seven seconds left. You never know how things will truly pan out until the game starts. The Highlands mystique often intimidates teams and could be the case Saturday. Owensboro has not faced Highlands since the 2000 Class 3A championship game. The Bluebirds beat the Red Devils for the 1999 3A title as well. But the Bluebirds will not go down there thinking Owensboro will lay down for them. The Red Devils may have needed a fluke play to make it to the title game. They may play their best ball considering they have nothing to lose in the underdog role and will be excited to be there like Highlands Head Coach Brian Weinrich said. Owensboro runs the Double-Slot Wing-T triple option offense and has run it well on teams all season. That includes the losses to Bowling Green and Henderson County. The Red Devils have 3,703 yards rushing on the season. Anthony James has 1,180 yards rushing on 171 carries and 16 touchdowns. James runs behind an Owensboro offensive line with some size. VaSaad Greer is 6-foot-3-inches, 340 pounds at the right guard. Big and physical teams have given Highlands some problems this year. That means Owensboro could go on some long and sustained drives if Highlands does not line up right defensively. That happened to the Bluebirds in their losses to Cincinnati Elder and Miami (Fla.) Christopher Columbus. The Bluebirds like to use their speed to get around bigger offensive lineman. D.J. Mills, Daniel Kremer and Tyler Robinson have done it well on the defensive line and linebackers like Rocco Pangallo and Brady Murray have done well coming quickly to the ball. The Highlands secondary could also play a vital role in stopping both the Owensboro running and passing attack. Highlands junior Austin Beal made a big play in the second quarter. He tackled Lexington Catholic running back Jaylen Jones on a pass play and the ball squirted out into the hands of Highlands linebacker Jacob Noe for a crucial turnover. The Red Devils pass the ball some. But Nick Locher has not thrown for near the yards that LexCath quarterback Reese Ryan threw for this year. On the other side, no team has been able to slow down Beau Hoge and the Highlands offense. Hoge has been great at reading defenses all year. The first drive against Lexington Catholic was a prime example. Hoge saw an opening up the middle so he fakes to running back Griffin Urlage and scored on a read option play. The Bluebirds have done it well with the revamped offensive line led by seniors Manny Venegas, Lou Bunning, Matt Gall and juniors Evan Richardson, Carson Haas and Bo Hebel. They’ve been opening up holes well lately. The good news compared to last year is Highlands is not as banged up defensively. But all in all, the it factor favors the Bluebirds. They played like a team on a mission against Lexington Catholic and will look to carry it into Saturday. They were ready since the loss in the title game last year like Pangallo said. Game time is 3:30 p.m. Central Standard Time at Western Kentucky University. FORT THOMAS MATTERS: The Bluebirds May Have Their Work Cut Out for Them To Take State

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Blue and White have put in the usual hard work and dedication to make it back to this point. Now that the Highlands Bluebirds football team has made it back to the Class 4A state championship game, there is just one thing on the minds of the players and coaches. Redemption. This team hopes to cap off the 100th season in grand fashion and do what the 1960, 1964, 1996 and 2004 teams. That’s claim a state championship after finishing runner-up the year before. The Bluebirds (12-2) aim to do that against a team many felt would be there with them in the state championship game in the Owensboro Red Devils (12-2). Game time is 3:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Saturday at Western Kentucky University’s Feix Field, Houchens/LT Smith Stadium. The Bluebirds hope to capture their state-record 23rd state championship and seventh in the last eight years while the Red Devils hope to capture their third crown. Owensboro won the Class 2A title in 1974 and the 3A title in 1986. Highlands lost 37-34 to Collins in last year’s title game. The Titans threw the game-winning touchdown pass with seven seconds left. That ended the Bluebirds’ state-record run of six straight championships. Highlands will not face the same opponent it faced in the same round of the playoffs the previous year for the first time since the 2012 state championship game. The Blueirds beat Collins, 47-0 in the first-ever meeting between the two programs that year. Highlands and Owensboro met for the 3A title games in 1999 and 2000 when Gino Guidugli was the quarterback. The Bluebirds won those games at KFEC Cardinal Stadium in Louisville by 48-10 and 48-27 counts respectively. The Bluebirds hope to continue the momentum from their 47-26 win over Lexington Catholic in the state semifinals. They jumped out to a 28-7 lead over the Knights and did not let the lead dwindle to single digits. Highlands and Owensboro have one common opponent in the Warren Central Dragons. The Red Devils beat the Dragons, 28-26 on Oct. 3 and the Bluebirds shut out the Dragons, 43-0 on Oct. 31. Highlands and Owensboro both run 3-4 defenses. The Red Devils have allowed 267 points, 2,309 yards rushing and 1,428 yards passing on the season. “They don’t do a lot. They’re just good at what they do,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Head Coach. “They have a lot of speed at their skill positions. They have size up front. You have to be right on with execution to get anything on them.” Offensively, Highlands has proven difficult to cover in its spread offense. The Bluebirds have scored 562 points on the season, rushed for 2,727 yards and passed for 3,348. Highlands senior quarterback Beau Hoge continues to have a great season. He has completed 220-of-347 passes for 3,254 yards, 33 touchdowns and six interceptions. Hoge has also rushed for 791 yards on 106 carries and 23 touchdowns. Senior Alex Veneman has surpassed the 1,500-yard receiving mark with 87 catches for 1,529 yards and 22 touchdowns. Fellow senior Griffin Urlage leads the team with 823 yards rushing on 127 carries and seven touchdowns. “The key every week is to execute and take what’s there,” Weinrich said. “You can’t get greedy. We’ve done a great job in the playoffs of taking what they give us whether it’s the running game or the passing game until it’s not there. Then we find something that is there. We have to figure out how they’re doing to defend us quick, execute and keep the ball moving. We have to finish drives with scores.” Owensboro outside linebacker GeKove Gardner leads the Red Devils with 76 tackles. The Bluebirds also must contain defensive lineman VaSaad Greer. Kishawn Walker and Airius Phillips led the Red Devils with four interceptions each and five players have two fumble recoveries each. Owensboro needed a last-minute miracle to beat North Oldham, 27-24 in the other semifinal game Friday. Red Devil quarterback Nick Locher threw a long pass down the field. It tipped off a North Oldham defender and Owensboro junior wide receiver Jahlil Barrett skill and into the hands of junior Kishawn Walker for It was similar to the Nov, 9, 2002 last-second Miracle in the Bluegrass when Louisiana State beat Kentucky, 33-30. The Bluebirds hope the game does not come down to that. They’ve allowed 270 points, 2,067 yards rushing and 2,264 yards passing this year. “You have to try to get the ball on the ground,” said Shelby Jones, Highlands Defensive Coordinator. “That’s the number one thing. You can’t let anyone get behind you at some point and not stop and jump. That’s about all you can really say about it. They try to play hard. Luck went in their favor on that one.” The Red Devils have scored 543 points on the season. They run the Double-Slot Wing-T offense. They’ve rushed for 3,703 yards and passed for 1,375. Highlands has seen the Wing-T offense twice this year. John Hardin and Paducah Tilghman both run it. “It’s basically about putting them in bad positions,” said Rocco Pangallo, Highlands senior linebacker. “If we stop them with no gain on first down, stop them on second down for no gain, they do not like 3rd-and-10. They want a 3rd-and-2. It’s easier to get first downs, move the ball and eat up the clock.” Anthony James and Locher have taken most of the carries for the Red Devils. James has 1,180 yards rushing on 171 carries and 16 touchdowns and Locher has 732 yards on 130 carries and 18 touchdowns. Nine different Red Devils have touchdowns on the season. “They just stay with it and keep it working,” Jones said. “They’re preying on (the opponent) making a mistake. If you make mistakes, they take advantage of it.” Locher is not afraid to put the ball in the air if necessary. He’s completed 66-of-118 passes for 1,349 yards. Barrett leads Owensboro with 16 catches for 340 yards and four touchdowns and Rodney Collier has 16 for 337 yards and five scores. The game is a battle between the teams with the most and seventh-most wins in Kentucky High School football history. Highlands owns a state-record 867 victories and Owensboro has 713. FORT THOMAS MATTERS: Highlands faces triple-option attack in state championship game

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter Many may be tired of seeing them venture to Bowling Green. But each football team has its own unique story in a town that cares about the players’ success in not just football but many things. The Highlands Bluebirds (12-2 overall) advanced to the state championship for the eighth straight year with a sound 47-26 win over the Lexington Catholic Knights on Friday at David Cecil Memorial Stadium. “We pretty much do the same things (as previous teams),” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Head Coach. “It’s just about all of us doing our jobs. For these guys, this is their only 2014 season. We have to do whatever we can as coaches to make it a great experience for them. It’s a legacy later. But it’s these guys, this year.” The Bluebirds did that this year with a revamped offensive line protecting quarterback Beau Hoge. Highlands graduated 12 offensive linemen from last year’s Class 4A state runner-up squad and the lone returning senior with varsity experience has seen limited action because of injuries. But senior Lou Bunning returned to the gridiron for the first time in three years and everyone including the likes of junior Carson Haas, Evan Richardson, Bo Hebel and seniors Manny Venegas and Matt Gall came together to give the Bluebirds the line play their used to seeing. “We know that our job up front is to protect Beau and give him time,” Gall said. “If we protect Beau, he’s really good. Our defense played awesome. They were a little worried coming into the game. But they shut (LexCath) down and we were able to come in and do what we needed to do.” The offensive linemen played a vital role in helping the balanced Highlands offense put up 523 yards of total offense in the win. Highlands rushed for 317 yards and passed for 206 in the victory. The senior tandem of running back Griffin Urlage and Hoge ran for most of the yards. Urlage had 16 carries for 182 yards and two touchdowns and Hoge ran for 137 yards on 16 carries and three scores. Junior Nick Kendall added 47 yards on the ground. “It’s not about which back,” Weinrich said. “It’s about who is in there at that time. We talked to our wide receivers this week about blocking on the perimeter because we knew there would be times when Beau would keep it. We blocked those guys.” Hoge completed 14-of-25 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown to five different wide receivers. Senior Alex Veneman once again led the way with seven receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown. Chandler New and Kendall had two each for 39 and 37 yards respectively. Eric Miller and Justin Weyer also had receptions. “We practiced hard all week. We practiced like it was a game,” Veneman said. “It pays off once it gets here. They stopped us once. We stopped ourselves a couple times. We could have put 70 points on the board. But mistakes happen. We played great.” On the other side, Highlands took out the Lexington Catholic running game. The Knights developed a running threat this year in junior Jaylen Jones and were not afraid to run quarterback draws with quarterback Reece Ryan. Jaylen Jones entered the game with 1,658 yards rushing on 250 carries and 17 touchdowns. Ryan had 321 yards on 66 carries and six scores. But the Bluebirds held the Knight rushing attack to minus-46 yards rushing on 27 carries. Jones had zero net yards on 10 attempts. “In every game we watched, (running the ball) was the first thing they tried to do,” Jones said. “We weren’t going to let them run the ball. We made the decision we were not going to let (Ryan) sit and pick us apart. He’s a great quarterback. All the guys did a great job.” Taking out Jones and jumping out to the 21-7 lead forced LexCath to keep Ryan in the pocket and throw the ball. The Bluebirds sacked him seven times for a total of minus-58 yards on 12 carries. The Highlands front four had wonderful games. Seniors D.J. Mills, Daniel Kremer and Rocco Pangallo recorded two sacks each. Junior Tyler Robinson and senior John Abner combined for the other. “I think from the beginning of the game, we had momentum,” Mills said. “All week, we’ve been working on squeezing and doing our jobs. I think it came out how we wanted it.” Ryan did complete 31-of-48 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns. But some of the throws were off-target because the Bluebirds put a lot of pressure on him. The Knights saw their two leading receivers have decent games. Junior Joseph Ogbogu had seven catches for 82 yards and Andy Thompson recorded five for 66 yards. “Last week prepared us for this week also,” said Kyle Martin, Highlands senior defensive back. “We try not to give up long passes. If you got beat, you took the 15-yard pass interference. We had good communication and got it done.” Ryan threw many balls deep. But he also completed a lot of sideline passes. The Bluebirds gang-tackled those receivers so they did not make moves and break free for long gains. LexCath struck first with 9:54 left in the first quarter. Ryan waited patiently for Ogbogu to break free over the middle for a wide-open 34-yard touchdown pass to put the Knights up 7-0. “They got us there on the first drive,” Coach Jones said. “They didn’t let that carry over. That’s been our message all season. We did exactly what we wanted to. We made him get rid of the ball fast.” But the Bluebirds quickly responded. Hoge drove them down the field and scored on a read-option left to tie the game at 7-7. The Knights turned the ball over on the next play. Ryan fumbled and Mills recovered the ball in Lexington Catholic territory. A few plays later, Highlands took the lead for good when Hoge found Veneman on the left side of the end zone for a 24-yard score with 6:31 left in the quarter. Highlands extended the margin to 21-7 with 1:19 left in the quarter. Hoge busted it in from a yard out. The Bluebirds recorded another big turnover. Ryan completed a pass to Jaylen Jones, but he fumbled the ball into Highlands linebacker Jacob Noe’s hands while Highlands junior defensive back Austin Beal tackled him. Noe returned the ball 32 yards. The Bluebirds then went up 28-7 when Hoge scored from the right side from six yards out with 7:19 left in the half. Lexington Catholic scored with 5:30 left in the half. Thompson caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Ryan. The kick failed leaving the score 28-13 Highlands at halftime. Highlands scored quickly out of the halftime gate. Urlage broke free for a 67-yard scamper just 16 seconds into the half. That put the Bluebirds up 35-13. After a Jared Dougherty 20-yard field goal with 7:04 left, Lexington Catholic scored before Urlage broke free for a 33-yard touchdown. Highlands led 44-20 at that point. Ogbogu scored on a 3-yard touchdown before the quarter ended making it 44-26 Bluebirds. There was just one score in the fourth quarter. It came when Dougherty hit a 27-yard field goal with 8:35 left in the game. Highlands hopes to redeem itself after not winning a state championship for the first time since 2006 last year. The Bluebirds lost to Collins, 37-34 with seven seconds left in that game snapping their state-record run of six consecutive state championships. FORT THOMAS MATTERS: Highlands earns another semifinal victory

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The Highlands Bluebirds football team just needed to defend its home field to advance back to the Class 4A state championship game. They did just that winning four home games on their way to the title game. The Bluebirds have won 61 straight games against Kentucky opponents dating back to 2006. The last team to beat Highlands at home was Covington Catholic back on Oct. 27, 2006, 29-27 when Kurt Bovard hauled in a last-minute touchdown pass. They take on the Owensboro Red Devils (12-2) for the title. That marks their eighth straight appearance in a title game in the 100th season of Highlands football. The program moved to 867-229-26 all-time with the win. The win total is second only to the 891 wins of Valdosta (Ga.). This marked the 16th appearance in 20 years in the state semifinals for the Bluebirds. The only times since 1995 that Highlands did not play in this round are 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2006. Highlands moved to 15-1 in those semifinal contests. The Bluebirds’ lone semifinal loss under recently retired Head Coach Dale Mueller came in a 45-6 loss at Rockcastle County. That marked the first year that current Head Coach Brian Weinrich served as Defensive Coordinator. The Bluebirds beat the same four opponents in the same rounds the last two years on their way to the title game. They’ve beaten Boyd County, Covington Catholic and Lexington Catholic in the same round four straight years. The series against LexCath: The Bluebirds improved to 7-1 all-time against the Knights. The only loss to Lexington Catholic came 17-0 in the 2005 regional title game. The Bluebirds have not been shut out in 131 games since then. LexCath won the 3A crown in 2005. “It’s a big victory when they don’t score because (the Knights) are an offensive machine,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Head Coach. “They always have been. I’m not sad to see them in a different class next year. It’s been four years in a row of nail-biters.” Highlands and Lexington Catholic will be in different classes next year. The Bluebirds move up to 5A and the Knights drop to 3A. The next opponent: Highlands has only faced Owensboro twice in school history. The Bluebirds beat the Red Devils in the 1999 and 2000 Class 3A state championship games by 48-10 and 48-27 scores when Geno Guidugli was the quarterback. Owensboro needed a last-minute miracle to beat North Oldham, 27-24 in the other semifinal game Friday. Red Devil quarterback Nick Locher threw a long pass down the field. It tipped off a North Oldham defender and Owensboro junior wide receiver Jahlil Barrett skill and into the hands of junior Kishawn Walker for It was similar to the Nov, 9, 2002 last-second Miracle in the Bluegrass when Louisiana State beat Kentucky, 33-30. The Red Devils lost the regular season finale, 44-18 at Henderson County and 42-34 against then three-time defending 5A champion Bowling Green on Sept. 12. In addition to the nail-biter Friday, Owensboro survived a close 29-28 call against Madisonville-North Hopkins. Familiar faces in the title game: The Bluebirds will be seeking their state-record 23rd state championship Saturday after falling a play short of it last year. The state championships take place at Feix Field, Houchens/LT Smith Stadium on Friday and Saturday. Western Kentucky University will play host to the state football championships through 2018. But Highlands will not be the only traditional power seeking another crown. The Louisville Trinity Shamrocks (9-5) find themselves back in the 6A title game after losing to Louisville Male in the region title game last year. They will also be seeking their 23rd state championship against Dixie Heights (13-1) in the late game Saturday. In 1A, defending champion Mayfield (13-1) will be seeking its 11th title against Williamsburg (14-0) on Saturday at 11 a.m. Central Standard Time. In 3A, defending champion Belfry (12-2) takes on rival Louisville Central (10-4) at 11 a.m. Friday. Belfry beat Wayne County, 3-0 to win the title last year but Central had won 3A in five of the previous six years. Belfry will be seeking its fourth state title. Christopher Columbus still alive: The Miami (Fla.) Christopher Columbus Explorers (12-1) handed the Bluebirds one of their two losses, 38-34 on Oct. 11. The Explorers moved on to the Florida Class 8A semifinals with a 33-7 victory over Killian on Friday. Florida has a playoff system similar to Kentucky. The only difference is the classes are divided into 16 districts and the top two teams make the playoffs because Florida has more schools. Highlands moved to 12-0 against Kentucky teams this year. The other loss came to Cincinnati Elder. The Panthers lost 42-13 to Wayne in the first round of the Ohio Division I playoffs. FORT THOMAS MATTERS: Bluebird Notebook: Highlands successfully defends home field

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter The combination of the visitors’ running game and special teams spelled doom for the hosts on Friday near Pikeville. The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds had two punt returns and saw junior running back Jacob Smith run wild in a 43-16 Class 2A semifinal win over the Shelby Valley Wildcats (11-3). NewCath (8-5) won its 13th straight semifinal contest using its experience. Teams have to generally win three playoff contest to make it to the state semifinals. The Thoroughbreds have only lost in the state semifinals once to Somerset back in 1983. “We jumped on them early,” said Dan Wagner, NewCath Head Coach. “With the offense they run, we knew they’d be in trouble. It worked out the way we wanted it.” Shelby Valley had only won two playoff games between 1998 and last year. The last one came in 2009. The Wildcats outgained the Thoroughbreds, 257-250 in total offense and gained nine first downs to three for NewCath. But most of those yards came in the second half. Smith rushed for 218 yards on nine carries and three touchdowns. He also returned a punt for a touchdown and John Harris rushed for another. The Thoroughbreds returned two punts for a touchdown. Nate Enslen had the other. NewCath focused on Shelby Valley running backs Chandler Rowe and Kasey Tackett. Rowe rushed for 173 yards on 22 carries and Tackett finished with 56 on 14 carries in the Double-Slot Wing-T offense. “They’re more athletic than you think,” Wagner said. “They have some nice players. We had to take (Rowe) and (Tackett) out of the ballgame and we did a good job of that. They had just one big drive in the first half of 60 yards.” The teams combined for four yards passing. Shelby Valley quarterback Donavon Layne completed one of his two passes for those four yards. NewCath forced the running clock in the second quarter. They led 28-0 after the first quarter. Smith recorded a 53-yard touchdown run just 22 seconds into the game before Enslen returned a punt 65 yards with 9:19 left in the quarter. The Thoroughbreds had two more rushing touchdowns in the quarter. The first came with 5:25 remaining when Harris scored from five yards out and the other came with 3:28 left in the game when Smith recorded a 48-yard run. NewCath put the game away in the second quarter. Smith had a 78-yard touchdown run and quarterback Patrick Henschen completed the two-point pass to Brandon Gray to give the Thoroughbreds a 36-0 advantage. The final Thoroughbred score came with 1:46 left in the half. Smith had a 71-yard punt return to put NewCath up 43-0 at halftime. Shelby Valley scored its two touchdowns in the third quarter. Tackett had a 20-yard run with 7:41 left in that stanza and Rowe ran it in from 31 yards out. The Thoroughbreds take on Louisville DeSales (13-1) for the Class 2A state championship at Western Kentucky University on Friday at 3:30 p.m. DeSales beat NewCath, 34-26 in the title game last year. Fort Thomas Matters Sports: NewCath handles mountain state semifinal opponent

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter They’ve carried the same preseason title the last few years, but have fallen short of it. That’s the title of preseason favorites to win the 9th Region boys basketball title. They held the title last year and dominated most of the year going 29-4 overall. The Thoroughbreds won their second straight All “A” state championship and captured their sixth consecutive 36th District title. But in the 9th Region semifinals, NewCath fell 51-43 to the eventual state champion Covington Catholic Colonels. “Depth is the key. But we’re just trying to get better,” said Ron Dawn, veteran NewCath Head Coach. “We lost to a good team. It wasn’t like we lost to a bad team or something in the region. This year, we have to make sure we’re playing well at the right time of the year. We didn’t lose to any bad teams last year.” The Thoroughbreds hope to capture that elusive crown for the first time since 2000 starting with the return of three starters from that team. They are senior point guard Zach Pangallo, senior center Drew McDonald and junior center Ben Weyer. McDonald recently signed to play for nearby Northern Kentucky University. “That loss last year was heartfelt,” Pangallo said. “Since starting our sophomore year, we always wanted to win the region. It’s our senior year now so we have to come out and play our best basketball to come out on top and win the region.” NewCath graduated Jake Schulte, Tanner Moeves, Mac Franzen, Josh Verkamp and Tyler Rawe from last year’s team. Schulte is playing for South Carolina-Upstate and Moeves is playing at nearby Thomas More College. Senior Grant Moeves will move into one of the starting spots after being the first one off the bench last year. The question is figuring out who will be the fifth starter. Among the candidates are junior Erik Anderson, sophomore Luke Moeves and junior John Ludwig. Weyer and McDonald again plan to use their 6-foot-5-inch and taller frames to their advantage. They dominated the paint last year and have added more to their games in the offseason. “I really love playing with Drew because we’re so similar,” Weyer said. “We can shoot outside and post up. That leads to a lot of mismatches. It just benefits the whole team because we can spread people out. Defenses struggle with that. None of us play selfish.” Pangallo often started the offense. He got in foul trouble against CovCath. The Colonels tried to make others start the offense in that game and more opponents could do the same this year. “That’s easier said than done. Zack does a really good job,” Dawn said. “But we have some other guys. We’re going to take him off the point some and let Grant play the point some. We just have to be patient to get it in his hands and let him run things.” A number of others are hoping to give the Thoroughbreds that needed depth. They include senior guard Seth Freppon and junior guards Brian Anderson and Jacob Smith. “I think we have really good team chemistry,” Dawn said. “These kids get along and play well together. They’re really unselfish – sometimes to a fault. They get the ball to the open man. Defensively, I think we’re going to be really good before it’s over. ” NewCath plays a tougher schedule this year. The Thoroughbreds again play in the King of the Bluegrass Tournament in addition to the Clem Haskins Classic at Taylor County and a game in the biggest high school gym in the country in New Castle (Ind.). The schedule is meant to help the Thoroughbreds prepare for the rugged region that will again include CovCath, Covington Holmes, Dixie Heights and Cooper among the contenders. “That’s the whole intent of it – to get us better,” Dawn said. “We have a lot of tough teams in our region. Our region will be strong again. We don’t get a night off.” The Thoroughbreds open the season Tuesday at Dixie Heights. Game time is 7:30 p.m. Fort Thomas Matters Sports: Thoroughbreds reload for another run at state

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter History may favor the visitors. But the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds football team (7-5) still has to go on a long road trip into the mountains of eastern Kentucky and prove it. The District 6 champion Throughbreds battle the District 8 champion Shelby Valley Wildcats (11-2) from in the Class 2A semifinals on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Shelby Valley is located near Pikeville. The schools are approximately 200 miles and four hours apart. “It’s business,” said Dan Wagner, NewCath Head Coach. “We’ve done this enough that we know how to handle ourselves. We’ve made it out what we want to do. We’ll leave around (Noon). We’ll feed them a banana, fruit or Gatorade when we get down there to tide them over. We’ll probably stop at a rest stop 2.5 hours down there for 15-30 minutes, then get back on the bus, do a little walk-through and get ready.” Shelby Valley has experienced a remarkable turnaround under first-year Head Coach Eric Ratliff. Their three playoff wins are one more than they’ve won since at least 1997. They had won just two playoff games between 1998 and last year with the last one coming in 2009. Shelby Valley won the fourth region that the Somerset Briar Jumpers had won the previous three years. But the Briar Jumpers fell to a winless 0-10 campaign this year. The experience factor heavily favors the Thoroughbreds. They have won 12 consecutive state semifinals contests, including nine since 2000. They’ve also gone 4-5 in state championship games during that time frame. They’ve also played the tougher schedule. Defensively, NewCath’s 4-4 defense will take on a Shelby Valley Double-Slot Wing-T offense that is run-oriented. The Wildcats have rushed for 4,027 yards and passes for just 459. A pair of juniors have rushed for the majority of those yards. Fullback Chandler Rowe owns 1,805 yards on 268 carries and 26 touchdowns and tailback Kasey Tackett has 1,626 on 154 carries and 17 touchdowns. Wagner said Shelby Valley also runs senior Quinton Williams and sophomore Jordan Hampton to keep teams honest. They run behind an offensive line led by junior Jordan Belcher. “Their offensive line is big. We’ve seen big lines all year,” Wagner said. “They play to their strength. They get after you and wear you down. We have our work cut out for us.” The Thoroughbreds employ an aggressive defense led by junior linebacker Kobe Tallon with 135 tackles. Tallon said Rowe runs up the middle and Tackett likes to go outside. “You have to watch the guard,” Tallon said. “He’ll take you to where the ball is. That’s all you have to do really because they like to pull with the guards. You have to contain (4) and we’ll be good from there.” Shelby Valley does not throw the ball much. Junior quarterback Donavon Layne has completed just 36-of-73 passes for 459 yards, five touchdowns and seven interceptions. Junior Erik Anderson leads NewCath with four interceptions and Brandon Gray has three. Teams in eastern Kentucky are not known for spreading the field. But the Wildcats have seen some spread teams in Somerset and Prestonsburg. They beat Prestonsburg, 20-14 in overtime to advance to the state semifinals. Junior linebacker Trevor Wright leads the Wildcats with 153 tackles and junior defensive back Austin Elswick owns a team-high seven interceptions. NewCath Offensive Coordinator Dave Schneider also said to watch Tackett and senior defensie lineman Andrew Newsome. The NewCath offensive line has played well lately. Junior running back Jacob Smith leads the Thoroughbreds with 1259 yards rushing on 199 carries and 22 touchdowns. John Harris has been contributing better lately with 254 yards on 51 carries and five scores. Thoroughbred sophomore quarterback Patrick Henschen has completed 105-of-162 passes for 1,409 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions. Gray has led the way for NewCath catching the ball with 35 catches for 363 yards and Nate Enslen has 28 for 503 yards and seven scores. Smith has added 23 receptions for 361 yards and three touchdowns. “They have great size and are very aggressive. I don’t know that they’re extremely quick,” Schneider said. “Their front three are very aggressive. They get off the ball well so we’ll have to do a good job blocking.” The other state semifinal pits defending state 2A champion Louisville DeSales (12-1) against Murray (9-4) at Louisville Southern. The winners play for the state championship on Dec. 5 at 3:30 p.m. EST at Western Kentucky University. Fort Thomas Matters Sports: NewCath travels long way for state semifinal game

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter It may be Black Friday, but it’s also been a Blue and White Friday the previous seven years in Fort Thomas. The Highlands Bluebirds (11-2 overall) have won seven consecutive state semifinal contests and are seeking another against the same opponent they’ve beaten in the last three in the Lexington Catholic Knights (10-3). Game time is 6 p.m. Many alums come into town for Thanksgiving weekend and the team is urging everyone to come out and make David Cecil Memorial Stadium the usual tough home field advantage because Highlands knows it is in for a battle. The Knights bring a nine-game winning streak to town while the Bluebirds have won four in a row. Two versatile, elite quarterbacks will be on hand and the key for the opposing defenses will be containing them. They are Highlands senior Beau Hoge and LexCath senior Reese Ryan. “It’s two of the top quarterbacks in the state going at it and two really good teams,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands Head Coach. “We’re very similar to one another. You could change jerseys and you’d have to really sit back to see who’s who. I think it would be a fun game to see.” Hoge surpassed the 3,000-yard mark throwing the ball in the 37-34 region final win over Covington Catholic. Hoge has completed 206-of-322 passes for 3,048 yards, 32 touchdowns and six interceptions and rushed for a team-high 654 yards on 90 carries and 20 touchdowns. Hoge has plenty of weapons around him led by an offensive line in the likes of seniors Matt Gall, Lou Bunning and juniors Carson Haas, Bo Hebel and Evan Richardson. Senior Griffin Urlage has rushed for 641 yards on 111 carries and five touchdowns and junior Nick Kendall has 609 yards on 79 attempts and six touchdowns. “It all starts with the offensive line,” Urlage said. “They need to have a great game. We need to find the holes and run through them.” If Lexington Catholic gears up to stop the run, Highlands can hurt teams with its passing game. Senior Alex Veneman continues his record-setting season with 80 catches for 1,448 yards and 21 touchdowns and junior Mitch Cain is second with 25 catches for 400 yards and three scores. LexCath runs the 3-3-5 defense. The Knights are led by senior linebacker Chase Boling with 108 tackles and five fumble recoveries. Senior defensive back Andy Hickey has a team-high three interceptions. Senior linebacker Braxton Couch and senior defensive back Cody Mitchell add solid support. The Bluebirds hope to play better defensively after Covington Catholic rallied with two quick scores on long touchdown passes. Highlands does have some young players in the secondary with senior Andrew “The Cowboy” Abner out for the season with a torn Anterior Cruciated Ligament. Senior James Hinkel leads Highlands with two interceptions. Solid skill players have emerged for the Knights to support Ryan and first-year LexCath Head Coach Mark Perry. Ryan has completed 202-of-288 passes for 2,904 yards, 34 touchowns and seven interceptions. His main targets have been juniors Andy Thompson with 46 catches for 812 yards and five touchdowns and Joseph Ogbogu with 55 catches for 832 yards and 12 scores. “We just have to go with things and see how they roll out,” said Austin Beal, Highlands junior defensive back. “We just have to stay over top of (Thompson and Ogbogu). We have to protect (the young defensive backs) and make sure they don’t get the ball downfield. We need to make sure they know what they’re doing.” Ryan also has 66 carries for 321 yards and six touchdowns. But junior Jaylen Jones has emerged at running back. Jones has 250 rushes for 1,658 yards and 17 touchdowns. Highlands has made plays defensively at crucial times this season. Senior linebacker Brady Murray leads the Bluebirds with nine tackles for a loss and four sacks. Junior defensive lineman Tyler Robinson also has four sacks and senior linebacker Patrick Schoepf leads Highlands with three fumble recoveries. “It’s just about going out, playing and doing what we do,” said Shelby Jones, Highlands Defensive Coordinator. “They have the ability to make some big plays. But if we go out, cover and do what we’re supposed to do, I feel like we should be a good shape.” Highlands and LexCath have one common opponent in the Lexington Bryan Station Defenders. Highlands edged Bryan Station, 47-41 on Sept. 5. The Defenders handled the Knights a week later, 49-26. The Bluebirds are 6-1 all-time against the Knights. The only loss in the series came in 2005 in a 17-0 loss at home in the 3A regional title game. That is the last time Highlands has been shut out and is the last time a team beat Highlands in the playoffs at home. FORT THOMAS MATTERS: Highlands squares off in state semifinals with similar opponent